The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook: 250 No-Fail Recipes for Pilafs, Risottos, Polenta, Chilis, Soups, Porridges, Puddings, and More, from Start to Finish in Your Rice Cooker Paperback – January 17, 2012

I have owned this book for five years, and it is my go-to book for anything rice. And when we were remodeling my house (for TWO years - AAHH!), the book was in storage, and I sorely missed it.I unpacked it a few days ago, and I'm like a kid in a candy store. I'm making all my oldie fav's ----- Risi i Bisi (rice and peas) -- I tweak the recipe to make it with long grain brown rice (I'm a health but), and it tastes AMAZING. (I'm eating a second bowl of it now as I type) ;-p-- Vegetable Paella -- to die for. I tried many times to recreate the recipe while the book was in storage, and I failed utterly. I made it last night, and it was just as I remembered it.-- Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto -- I have the mushrooms and asparagus cut and cleaned, in the fridge, waiting to be made tomorrow.-- Italian sausage risotto -- I make this with Tofurkey brand vegetarian Italian sausage. Scrumptious.-- Thai curried rice -- I have NEVER tasted rice this good in a Thai restaurant. The flavors are exquisite.-- Moroccan Brown rice -- I love this, except that I convert it to an Indian dish: I add some Garam Masala and a bunch of veggies (carrots, onion, potatoes, as wells as peas and pan-seared cauliflower at the last minute) to turn it into the best vegetarian Biriyani I have ever had.There is a long list of recipes that I WANT to try, but I am so enamored with the ones that I mention above that I never get around to the other recipes. I mean, really, how much rice can a family eat? Excuses aside, I must discipline myself to try the other recipes....Can you tell that I like this book?!Oh, and although I have a fancy rice cooker, I usually cook the recipes in my cheapo Black and Decker rice cooker (also bought on Amazon.com). I have to catch it just as it clicks to "Keep-Warm" and take the bowl out of the cooker right away... otherwise, the bottom gets a bit browned. This is yummy in some recipes, but undesirable in others. However, this comment has nothing to do with this book, other than the fact that you don't need a $250 rice cooker to make these wonderful recipes. (I use my cheapo rice cooker because it's smaller, easier to get out of the cupboard and easier to clean.)= = = UPDATE 22 December 2012 = = =I have a large collection of cookbooks, but I rarely use them. There are, however, three cookbooks that I keep in my kitchen... and this book is one of them.As mentioned, I use a cheapo rice cooker, and I have no problem with the recipes. My only "gripe" is that the recipes use six-ounce "cups" -- I mentally convert each recipe to REAL cups, otherwise I can't "think" with the recipes. And yeah, sometimes I have to adjust the remaining ingredients of a recipe, but I've never had a problem. The recipes are really forgiving, and I've rarely had a dud. (The only duds have been when I had too much liquid in relation to the amount of rice. So I usually slightly underestimate the water. I can easily add more water, but I can't salvage a soggy batch of rice.)Some of my new "favs" are:-- French Pilaf (page 103) -- This produces the most AMAZING rice for when I serve vegetarian (or meat) shish-kabobs, and pairs EXTREMELY well with Middle-Eastern dishes such as Turkish lentil soup. Just make sure you saute the onions and rice long enough before adding the water. Also, slightly underestimate the water. This is way better when it is slightly a-la-dent.-- Mexican rice and beans (page 80-81). I add one chile in adobe sauce for added kick. Excellent one pot meal with a side salad, salsa and chips. (Add some cheese if you eat dairy)-- Butternut squash rissoto (page 120) -- OMG!! Did I die and go to heaven? I roast the butternut squash and then add it at the last moment. I also cook the rice with a little sage and thyme and a can of white cannellini beans for a one-pot meal (we are 80% vegan with the occasional lapse to keep our tummies happy)In all, this is a really useful book. Sometimes I use the recipes exactly, and sometimes I use them as a starting point. The important thing to keep in mind is the RATIO of rice to water. Usually, the ratio is 1 cup rice to 2 cups water... minus a little bit if you like your rice firm (which is how I like my rice), but the ratio can change a little depending on the type of rice. I always check the package of rice to see what the manufacturer recommends, and then I adjust a recipe accordingly.I've found the recipes to be really forgiving. I can have more or less of most any ingredient. The only thing that is CRUCIAL is the ratio of rice to liquid, and I solve that by slightly underestimating the liquids.And remember, vegetables are 70 - 80% water. Because I like to add lots of vegetables, I always subtract a suitable amount from the water/broth. If I add a cup of vegetables, I subtract 1/3 or 1/2 cups of water from the recipe. (I like to "overload" my rice dishes with vegetables -- it reduces calories... yay!)

I must say first that this book does have a table of contents and an index. The index lists recipes by ingredient. For example every recipe with basmati in it will be listed under basmati and so on. Even if you want a recipe with a "small" ingredient like ginger, you'll find all of the recipes that have that ingredient listed under that. I do like that. Honestly, I haven't tried the recipes yet, but I know they'll work because I've experimented with my rice cooker before and have used a rice cooker for over fourteen years back when they were hard to find in the U.S. Now that rice cookers are available in every supermarket, it makes sense to have a book like this that expands your options beyond just simple rice. I would have liked to see recipes listed by ethnic category. I especially enjoy South Asian recipes, so it would have made it easier to find those recipes if they were listed by country. Maybe in the next edition??? Either way, I can't wait to get started cooking!Update: I've tried the Indian rice and lentil recipe and love it. I did change it up a little like using ginger powder instead of fresh ginger and omitted a few things like the mixed vegetables, but it worked and I came out with a dish that everyone loved. We did sweat a little from the spice and crushed red pepper, but it was a good sweat! She recommends the quicker cooking moong daal for the lentils but I used a regular yellow split pea lentil which will require probably a good ten minutes of boiling before adding to the rice cooker because they were a little firm but no one complained about it - I just noticed it for myself that I like a softer daal (lentil). Next time, I'm going to visit our local India Bazaar and get some moong daal and try it the way she recommends so I can cut out the boiling time. Also, I wanted to mention that there is a good sixty pages of explaining the history of and how to use the rice cooker and the different types. Also, each food category in the book gives a lot of good tips so you can create your own recipes. I especially enjoyed reading about how the Indians use their rice cookers with three baskets to create a full meal and how she gives tips to make full meals. I love to simplify making meals. I'm so excited to try more recipes and get creative with my rice cooker!